UCSB students and anti-war community members converged at the
first-ever Isla Vista Peace Festival last Saturday. Speakers
addressed the tragic costs of the Iraq war, the potential for a
repeat performance in Iran, and efforts by the Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation (NAPF) to cut the University of California’s ties to
weapons research laboratories. The festival–hosted by the NAPF,
UCSB Solidarity Against War (SAW), and KCSB–took place on the
National Day of Action calling for the end of the Iraq war.
Rebelution, Bixby, and other bands put the pro-peace message to
music. Noting the difficulty of organizing students, Will
Parrish–the youth empowerment coordinator for NAPF–said, “Music
speaks to them. Also, people were allowed to drink.” Mateo–a
speaker from Iran and a UCSB history professor–railed against the
potential war in Iran, citing the lack of evidence linking Iraq and
Iran to 9/11 and the fact that Iran has not violated a single rule
of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
